Hope you’re having fun and getting ready for the last party of the summer!

I recently received my September issue of Vogue, and — at a voluminous 798 pages (seriously) — it made my wrist throb as I read it for 20 minutes while sitting on the beach last weekend. It actually hurt to hold the magazine. I should point out that the fall issue is traditionally one of Vogue’s biggest, but good Lord — the Editor’s Letter (a mainstay at the beginning of every magazine) doesn’t appear until page 312! The advertisers paying a small fortune to appear in the first 311 pages got me thinking. Yes, we’re in a down economy, but clearly there’s still a market for products that make us feel good. Maybe it’s because we’re stuck in such an economic maelstrom. I read an article in the “Money” section of USAToday last week that noted “sin” items — liquor, cigarettes, etc. (or, as I call them, “NECESSITIES”) always surge in a bad economy because people want an escape from dour news.

I just returned to the office after being at the always-awesome SAAC Show in Long Beach, CA, last week. I’ve been attending the SAAC Show since its last year at the Towne & Country hotel in San Diego and have been a huge fan ever since. I don’t know if it’s because the show is the last of the year for many people or the relaxed vibe of Cali, but this show always has a distinct atmosphere to it — one of profound fun, where everyone is laid-back and happy.

See below for a smorgasbord of photos I took chronicling the week. Two of my favorite moments that I missed the chance to photograph? My pal Jamie Raynor from JournalBooks, who is always the epitome of moderation, reason and decorum, succumbing to the crazies and doing Irish Car Bombs (rock on, Jamie!) at the iPROMOTEu ”SupplierPalooza” party and Kris Robinson, vice president of Counselor Top 40 distributor PromoShop, getting five other people to join him in sticking their fingers in shots of Sambuca, lighting them on fire , raising their arms in the air and declaring themselves the “Statues of Liberty.” And truly, I can think of no better analogy for the SAAC Show and this industry: “Give us your weirdoes, wackos, loonies and kooks…” ; ) read more